The Department of Climate Action, Agriculture and Rural Agenda (DACC) of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the City Council of Llançà and SUBMON have signed a Stewardship agreement for the marine area of the Natura 2000 Network ES5120014- La Albera, located on the beaches of Canyelles and el Rastell, in the municipality of Llançà.

The main goal of this marine stewardship agreement is to promote the conservation of habitats and species of community interest in the La Albera marine area. The area of La Albera is declared a special conservation area (ZEC) by Agreement GOV/150/2014 and is mostly a land area with a marine area of about 5 hectares. On June 28, the first delimitation and mapping activity of the different species of marine phanerogams present in the Marine Stewardship Space was carried out.

A key protected area for marine biodiversity

On the one hand, it is a marine area with high conservation interest, since it houses a meadow of Neptune seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) and another of Zostera noltei, two species of seagrass that generate important ecosystems in the Mediterranean. On the other hand, the marine area of La Albera is a common point of recreational activities by local companies that practice snorkeling and kayaking, as well as entities in the area, school groups and individuals. These factors also allow the space to be a good point for carrying out environmental education activities.

With all this, in this same area, the presence of other species of fish of interest is also common, such as the broadnosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle), the seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) or the barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena), as well as a roost summer birds such as the Sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis) and the shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis sp. Desmaresti) at the tip of the Cros.

La Albera area is part of the Natura 2000 Network, a European network of biodiversity conservation areas created from Directive 92/43 /EEC and whose objective is to promote the good state of conservation of habitats and species of community interest and contribute to stopping the loss of biodiversity. It is the most extensive network of protected areas in the world, and it is the main instrument for nature conservation in the European Union. Marine spaces represent 38% of the total area of this network.